I thought this was worth forwarding to the list.
Phil.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Regner Capener" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Regner Capener" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, October 31, 2005 7:37 AM
Subject: ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: PERSECUTION
ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: PERSECUTION
Good Monday Morning, Folks!
Today is one of those days when we will deviate from our normal discussion
to take up a crisis situation needing your prayers.
During the weekend, I received two emails from friends that deserve passing
on.
The first one was forwarded to my by Dave Severy.
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Dear Saints,
I received a newsletter from a Paw Creek Ministries and Church in Charlotte,
North Carolina. TODAY this request was at the TOP of the page :
Our missionaries in Haiti, Rev. David and Mrs. Alicia Lloyd have just called
with a desperate prayer call. They are the superintendents of our Home for
Children. Their two children, Davy and Hannah, approximately ages 7 and 4,
have just been kidnapped. This is a constant threat in Haiti and it is
desperate. To find them alive will be a miracle.
Please go to God with us and tell everyone you know to pray.
Joseph R. Chambers
Dave Severy aka
<http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/_javascript:emoticon(':sheep:')>SEV
www.lambspoet.blogspot.com<http://www.lambspoet.blogspot.com/>
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The second email came concerning the persecution of Christians in Indonesia
by Islamic fundamentalists.
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As you know, Christians have been taken and abused, tortured and beheaded by
the thousand throughout the past years in Indonesia. In the year before the
tsunami struck, more than a thousand pastors were seized and systematically
beheaded for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, their churches burned to the ground
and their congregations warned not to worship Jesus Christ on pain of death.
The blessing has been that the more Christians have been persecuted, the
more the Gospel spreads. The world is not accustomed to seeing people die
with hands outstretched, declaring the love of God to their persecutors and
executioners. In Indonesia, Islam -- as it does everywhere -- hates the
Gospel with a vengeance. The message of Islam is not a message of peace and
love, but a message of submit, "or else."
This week, I saw both the hatred of demonic Islam and the love of Christ
exhibited in a single event. Three Indonesian Christian teenage girls were
on their way to worship services when they were accosted by Islamic
terrorists. The terrorists were not the brand of terrorist you read about
in the newspaper, but simply hate-filled fundamentalists out to eradicate
Christianity in Indonesia.
They threatened the three girls with instant death if they continued on
their trek to the church. The girls apparently attempted to share the
Gospel with their detractors, who became even more enraged. We found the
beheaded bodies of these three girls later that day when we realized they
were missing. Each of them had a peaceful look on their faces -- not what
you would expect to see on those knowing they were going to die.
The body of Christ at large needs to realize that persecution for Christians
is a way of life here in the islands. All of us are in constant danger, our
lives threatened daily.
We simply ask that Christians everywhere pray for the message and impact of
the Gospel to be heard in Indonesia, and that prayers be offered for the
safety of all who minister Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Anna
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--
The two emails brought to mind some Scriptures I have lived with
periodically throughout the years.
Paul was writing to Timothy when he said, "Yea, and all that will live Godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." (see II Timothy 3:12)
When writing to the Romans, he says, "Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed
all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39)
The Lloyds in Haiti know full well what it is to suffer persecution. Having
one's children attacked is a common methodology used by the Enemy in order
to discourage, defeat and drive away those who would preach Christ.
The three Christian teenage girls in Indonesia refused to let persecution --
and the sword (literally) -- separate them from the love of Christ. Their
deaths for the Gospel make them conquerors -- more than conquerors.
They not only conquered their fear of death, and the threats of
demonically-controlled persecutors; their deaths will surely result in even
more Muslims being converted to Jesus Christ. Every time a believer is
killed for the sake of Christ, their life becomes as a seed cast into the
ground.
That seed springs forth, bearing even more fruit. For every life that is
taken in and for the name of Jesus Christ, Satan loses tens, hundreds and
even thousands of people who have been under his dominion. It is the thing
that drives the God and Jesus-haters absolutely stark raving batty. Their
persecution has the absolute opposite effect.
I won't spend a lot of time on this topic because I've already shared much
of this in past Coffee Breaks, but when I was in Barrow, Alaska, pastoring
Inupiat Christian Center and presiding over the operations and growth of the
Christian Broadcasting Network in Alaska, persecution for the Gospel was the
order of the day.
Christians lacking in understanding of the purposes of God would say to me,
"Brother, you must be out of the will of God or you wouldn't be going
through all of this." Yet for all the opposition and persecution, we saw
the Gospel spread into areas where it had not been able to previously reach.
We saw people born again by the grace and power of God who had suffered
Satan's bondage their entire lives.
Two of my older children, Christian and Melodie, became the object and
device by which Satan attempted to drive me out of Barrow before the Lord
was finished with us there. During the winter months when it is perpetually
dark and the sun never shines (you have 66 consecutive days beginning in
November and ending in January when the sun never rises), all of your
activities have to take place in near-total darkness. You do have starlight
and the moon during its phases -- and that can provide a fair amount of
light when reflected off new-fallen snow -- but in the community, buildings
tend to blot out much of the available light, and there are times when you
navigate as much by your sense of direction as you do by what you can
actually see.
It was always dark when Chris and Melodie would get out of school at the end
of the day. When our detractors, therefore, decided to attack, it was easy
to hide in the shadows and strike out at the children. For the most part,
their attackers were adults -- not kids they played with. I can't begin to
remember the number of times they came home with their clothing ripped or
damaged, their faces and bodies bruised, and their noses bloodied after
being attacked in the darkness.
Sometimes the attacks were carefully orchestrated; other times they were
opportunities seized as advantageous for the purpose of sending me a
message: "Get out of Barrow."
Complaints to the local Department of Public Safety yielded little in the
way of results until DPS happened to hire a fellow Christian from a police
department in the state of Washington. Once we were introduced and he
became aware of what was taking place, he vigorously pursued the attackers.
The situation ultimately became bad enough that I sent Chris and Melodie to
Saint Paul Island to live with my parents for a year. Debbie -- my oldest
daughter -- was an adopted Eskimo from Barrow. Although she came under
attack and was shot at six times, her primary attacker was arrested and
jailed, essentially ending the attacks on her. She was nearing graduation
from High School anyway, and elected not to leave Barrow when given the
opportunity.
Important in all of this is the attitude we retain towards those around
us -- and particularly our detractors. I won't say that I handled myself
well in the face of it all at the time, but it became a learning experience;
and I realized that continuing to maintain an attitude of love and peace
drove my enemies nuts.
There were many other events that I won't take the time to talk about today,
but the ultimate end was that people scattered throughout remote communities
throughout Alaska heard the message of Jesus Christ, responded to the offer
of salvation, and experienced His life-changing love in their lives.
People don't normally deliberately head into circumstances and situations
that threaten themselves and their families with injury or death, but as a
Christian, once you find yourself faced with it you really only have one
option: STAND!
That said, today's Coffee Break is another plea for you as members of the
body of Christ to lift up these persecuted Christians daily, and to
intercede on their behalf. Do it now!
Jesus Christ looks continually for a people willing to be naturally
supernatural -- and ready to pay whatever price necessary in their flesh to
become supernaturally natural!
Blessings on you!
Regner A. Capener
R & DC MINISTRIES
Ekklesia House
RR-15, Box 6180
Mission, TX 78574-9589
(956) 583-5355
All Coffee Break articles are copyright by Regner A. Capener, but
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Coffee Break articles are published daily, Monday through Friday, except for
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To arrange for speaking engagements, please call Della Capener at (956)
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